Tesco is Now a Larger Tablet Maker Than Blackberry

When the UK retailer Tesco announced their Hudl tablet last September, no one really knew what to expect.

This tablet cost £119, which was not a bad price for a 7" tablet which ran Android 4.2.2 on a quad-core 1.5GHz Rockchip CPU with 16GB Flash, 1GB RAM, and a decent screen resolution (1440 x 900). The Hudl was fairly popular with reviewers, and now we know that it is seeing some success with British consumers.

Update: A reader has pointed out to me that the Playbook has been discontinued. There's been no announcement from Blackberry, and even though this tablet has been updated recently and is still available for sale, I think he's correct.

That's not bad for a first effort, and as a result of their success Tesco has confirmed that they are planning to launch a second model later this year. They have not released any details or specs on the new tablet, but there is a good chance that the new model will also be developed in partnership with Archos.

The Tesco Hudl was launched as a subsidized tablet along the lines of the Kindle Fire. In addition to Google Play, the Hudl also ships with Tesco's BlinkBox service, which sell ebooks, music, and video. Consumers in the UK can also use the Hudl to order groceries from Tesco.

Tesco has not revealed whether the subsidized model is working for them, merely saying that "Blinkbox services also continue to grow ". Their most recent financial report does mention that online sales were up 11% while overall revenue fell 6%.

I doubt they would plan a second tablet unless they were at least breaking even on the first.

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Nate Hoffelder

Nate Hoffelder is the founder and editor of The Digital Reader: He's here to chew bubble gum and fix broken websites, and he is all out of bubble gum. He has been blogging about indie authors since 2010 while learning new tech skills at the drop of a hat. He fixes author sites, and shares what he learns on The Digital Reader's blog. In his spare time, he fosters dogs for A Forever Home, a local rescue group.

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4 Comments

For Tesco Clubcard holders (16 million active) the Hudl will cost them just £60 in loyalty points.

The drop in revenue is one happening across the UK supermarkets due to competition from a handful of super-low-cost stores and would appear to be pertinent to groceries rather than any other goods or services Tesco offer.

Tesco is invariably in the top five (usually top three) of the world’s biggest retailers, with revenue – and profits – Amazon can only dream of.